KNOW Theatre Returns To The Stage With THE GUYS

After 18 months without an in-person production, KNOW Theatre in Binghamton, N.Y., will return to the stage with a revival of Anne Nelson's "The Guys." This will be the first production with an audience since March 2020.

Set less than two weeks after terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, "The Guys" tells how an editor named Joan connects with a fire captain named Nick, who lost most of his men in the World Trade Center. He's looking for a writer to help him with the eulogies he must present at their memorial services. Nick and Joan spend a long afternoon together, recalling the fallen men by recounting their virtues and their foibles, and fashioning the stories into memorials of words.

The play, starring Jennifer Corby and KNOW artistic director Tim Gleason, also was produced in 2006 (as the first play in the current Carroll Street space) and 2011, to commemorate the fifth and 10th anniversaries of the attacks.

Directing "The Guys" is longtime KNOW Theatre collaborator Michael Arcesi, who has starred in "The Dumb Waiter," "Of the Fields, Lately," "Seminar," "The Pillowman," "That Championship Season" and other productions, as well as directing Tennessee Williams' "Interior: Panic" and other short plays.

"The Guys" is based on Nelson's own experiences following the Sept. 11th attacks. It has been produced in all 50 states and 15 countries, and it was made into a feature film.

Nelson will join KNOW Theatre for talkbacks after the Sept. 17-18 performances.

She is an author and lecturer in the fields of international affairs, media and human rights. As a journalist, she covered the conflicts in El Salvador and Guatemala, and she won the Livingston Award for best international reporting from the Philippines.

Since 2003, Nelson has taught at Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), where her classes and research explore how digital media can support the underserved populations of the world through public health, education and culture.

Nelson's books include 2009's "Red Orchestra" (about how the media were used for both propaganda and resistance in Nazi Germany), 2017's "Suzanne's Children: A Daring Rescue in Nazi Paris" (telling of a network in Paris that saved hundreds of Jewish children from deportation), and 2019's "Shadow Network: Media, Money and the Secret Hub of the Radical Right" (outlining the history and tactics of the ultra-conservative Council for National Policy).

In addition to her work in media, Nelson has consulted for the Rockefeller Foundation, the Gates Foundation, the Knight Foundation and others in areas of human rights, freedom of expression, social and economic development, and media policy.

Tickets for "The Guys" are $25 ($20 for seniors; $15 for students); purchase at knowtheatre.org. A pay-what-you-can night will be offered on Thursday, Sept. 16.

This project is made possible with public funds from the Statewide Community Regrants Program of the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of Gov. Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, and administered by the Earlville Opera House. Additional support for the Broome SCR Program provided by the Stewart W. and Willma C. Hoyt Foundation Inc. Thanks also to the Klee Foundation for its 2021 operational grant.

Sponsoring the production of "The Guys" are Gil's Book Loft and Chris Kocher & Crystal Sarakas. Season sponsors are Stephen & Amy Smyk.

Thanks to generous funding from the City of Binghamton, all Binghamton first responders (firefighters, police officers and emergency medical technicians) can get a free ticket to "The Guys." Please present a first responder ID at the box office for any performance.

Due to COVID-19, all audience members must provide proof of vaccination or a negative test within 72 hours before the performance. All patrons must wear masks at all times in the building.

KNOW Theatre is an intimate, not-for-profit venue located at 74 Carroll St. in downtown Binghamton. For more information, email knowtheatrebinghamton@gmail.com.